Zunaed Siddique

A graceful left-hander with a high backlift, Junaid Siddique plays domestically for Rajshahi Division since 2003-04. A string of strong domestic performances pitch-forked him into the national limelight and he was selected to play for Bangladesh in the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa. Earlier he was in the 30 man initial squad for the 2007 World Cup but didn't make the cut.

He made his test debut against New Zealand in Dunedin in 2008 and impressed making a steady 74. His first test hundred too came against England when he weathered a barrage of short pitched stuff from Stuart Broad to make 106 at Chittagong in 2010. He was a part of the Bangladesh side in the 2011 World Cup.

Siddique is an apt foil for the attacking Tamim Iqbal at the other end who relishes in playing aggressively. Siddique is known to graft and plays within his own bubble. Though he hasn't found his feet in the ODI format, the Bangladeshi think-tank have high hopes on him and have given him an extended run. The extended run came to an end after he had a poor World Cup in 2011, where his highest score was 37 and he played 6 games. The drop form was also seen in Tests, he was dropped after playing the first Test against West Indies in 2012. It has been almost two years since he played for the National side, with the emergence of Anamul Haque at the top, the chances of a comeback look bleak.

Interesting facts: Siddique is a Bangladeshi cricketer of Pakistani descent. Junaid's grandfather and father originally originate from Sialkot Punjab Pakistan, but migrated to East Pakistan in 1968 which is now Bangladesh.

Siddique's nick-name is Imrose.

By SrivathsaAs of April 2014